Burning Calories in the weight room??

SmileyNicki_78

Lately, I've been hitting the leg press machine. However, when I log it on MFP, it doesn't show any calories burned at all. I work up more of a sweat on that thing then I do on the cardio machines, so I would think it would burn some calories too!! Hmmm??? Any thoughts??

jaymek92

there are dozens of topics on this already.
under cardio, click strength training and enter the time you did it for. the calculated burn is low, though, so be prepared for disappointment. there are too many factors for mfp to accurately calculate your calories burned, especially for lifting.

ronitabur

Get a heart rate monitor that has a calorie counter, and then log your weight training under cardio. The MFP calories are not accurate! Everyone burns calories differently, and each workout is going to vary in your calorie output, depending on what you're doing and how you feel that day. Sweating is not an indication of calorie burn. Getting your heart rate up burns calories. Weight training is good though, because your increased calorie burn can last for hours, where with cardio, not as much. And, as you build muscle, you'll increase your metabolism. (Just make sure you are getting enough protein if you are weight training - I recommend lean poultry, seafood and eggs or egg whites or even things like beans or tofu.) Currently, I can press 400 pounds, but I don't typically do they heavy press. I will usually stick around 300 pounds, doing multiple sets of 10-15 reps per set.

I recommend the book series "Weight Training Workouts that Work". They don't try to sell shakes or food or any equipment. It's a set of books that simply show you how to do each exercise, with a 12 week workout-a-day log, so it tells you what to do and how much weight to use to get the burn. Even better, you can buy it online, download it electronically and print the pages that you take into the gym. There's no need to carry a whole book - just one piece of paper and a pencil so you can log the work.